Author Archives: energyskeptic

Who Killed the Electric Car & more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Preface. Who cares about electric cars? Civilization ends when trucks stop running. Trucks can’t run on batteries because they’re too heavy (93% of the cargo weight, 25% of the cargo space), and an all-electric truck fleet would require thousands of … Continue reading

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Critical Thinking, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Electrification, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

President Carter’s energy solutions 1977

Preface. The speech below is one of the reasons Carter was not reelected. Reagan’s “Morning in America” was far more appealing. Another reason he wasn’t reelected was because the Reagan administration prevented the hostage crisis in Iran from being resolved … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Policy & Politicians, Expert Advice, President Jimmy Carter | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Peak Menhaden

Preface. This is a book review of: Bruce Franklin’s 2007 The Most Important Fish in the Sea. Menhaden and America. Island Press. I’d never heard of menhaden until my husband, who grew up in Florida, mentioned them. Just half a … Continue reading

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Hemp for paper, textiles, the war on drugs, and more

  Hemp product categories include: Clothing & Accessories, Health & Wellness, Food & Drinks, Pet Supplies, Beauty & Skincare, Farming & Gardening, Home & Office supplies, Automobiles, Industrial. Source: Top 50 Hemp Products You Can Get Online Preface.  If you … Continue reading

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Why towns have a hard time adding EV, solar, heat pumps

Preface.  This article from IEEE does a good job of explaining how and why it is incredibly expensive for cities to cope with with L2 chargers, EV, solar, and heat pumps by zeroing in on Palo Alto, where there are … Continue reading

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Building a national super grid in America

Preface. Renewables are not evenly distributed.  Just 10 states have 80% of hydropower (Homeland Security 2011), 10 states produce 75% of wind power (EIA 2017), and 10 states produce 79% of solar power (CE 2020). With a national grid, instead … Continue reading

Posted in Blackouts Electric Grid, Electric Grid, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Electricity Infrastructure, National Super Grid, Solar, Vaclav Smil, Wind | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Mayflower from the book The Barbarous Years

Preface. It was recently Thanksgiving so I thought I’d post something from Mann’s 1491 about the pilgrims that I later found out was grievously wrong from an expert who gives lectures on the Mayflower history. Here is a more subtle, … Continue reading

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Deep Sea Oil

Preface. Peak oil was reached in November of 2018, but we aren’t out of oil, just halfway through.  Giant fields continue to be found, but in the deep ocean or arctic where it is expensive to drill. Below are some … Continue reading

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Book review of “Livewired. The inside story of the ever-changing brain”

Preface. This book conveys a sense of wonderment and awe about our brains work and how we become who we are.  I think if you read the excerpts below you will understand why Artificial Intelligence will probably never come close … Continue reading

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The conveyor belt may be slowing down — Yikes!

Preface. The conveyor belt (AMOC: Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) may be slowing down. If it stops, floods, increased sea level rise, and disturbed weather systems. Until recently the IPCC and other scientists didn’t think this might happen until 2300 or … Continue reading

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